Site Mobile Navigation

Modified Wheat Is Discovered in Oregon

Unapproved genetically engineered wheat has been found growing on a farm in Oregon, federal officials said Wednesday, a development that could disrupt American exports of the grain.

The Agriculture Department said the wheat was of the type developed by Monsanto to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup, also known as glyphosate. Such wheat was field-tested in 16 states, including Oregon, from 1998 through 2005, but Monsanto dropped the project before the wheat was ever approved for commercial planting.

The department said it was not known yet whether any of the wheat got into the food supply or into grain shipments. Even if it did, officials said, it would pose no threat to health. The Food and Drug Administration reviewed the wheat and found no safety problems with it in 2004.

Still, the mere presence of the genetically modified plant could cause some countries to turn away exports of American wheat, especially if any traces of the unapproved grain were found in shipments. About $8.1 billion in American wheat was exported in 2012, representing nearly half the total $17.9 billion crop, according to U.S. Wheat Associates, which promotes American wheat abroad. About 90 percent of Oregon’s wheat crop is exported.

While most American soybeans and corn are genetically modified, those crops are largely consumed by animals or made into processed foods. Wheat is consumed directly by people and there has been more consumer resistance. No genetically engineered wheat has been approved in any country. Indeed, one reason Monsanto dropped its development of genetically modified wheat in 2004 was concern from American farmers that it would endanger wheat exports.

Monsanto has now resumed research into genetically modified wheat but says it will be at least a decade before any such crop reaches the market.

Michael Firko, acting deputy administrator for biotechnology regulatory services in the Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said countries that import a lot of American wheat were being notified. Japan and Mexico are among the biggest importers.

In 2006, after traces of an unapproved genetically engineered rice were found in the American harvest, rice prices dropped, at least temporarily, and exports slowed.

Bayer CropScience, the company that developed and field-tested the rice, agreed to pay $750 million to settle claims with about 11,000 American farmers.

Mr. Firko said the rice situation was different because the grain was found in commercial supplies. In the case of the wheat, the genetically modified plants were growing where they were not wanted, like a weed.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

When the farmer tried to kill them with glyphosate, “a small percentage of them didn’t die,” Mr. Firko said. The farmer had them tested at Oregon State University, which found the Roundup-resistant gene in them. That finding has since been confirmed by the Agriculture Department.

Mr. Firko said federal agents were now trying determine whether there was any more genetically engineered wheat.

“We have no information about whether there is anything in the food supply or the grain supply,” he said. “We’re all over this. We have nine investigators combing the area.”

He said the same farmer — who was not identified — had another field two miles away planted with the same wheat. About 50 volunteer wheat plants found in that field were tested and no genetically engineered plants were detected, he said.

He said it was not clear how the wheat got to the farmer’s field. The last field test of that type of wheat in Oregon was in 2001, he said.

The discovery in Oregon was seized upon Wednesday by supporters of a ballot initiative in nearby Washington State that would require genetically modified foods to be labeled.

Monsanto said in a statement that it was cooperating with the Agriculture Department, but said it believed the finding was either invalid or highly unusual. “There is considerable reason to believe that the presence of the Roundup Ready trait in wheat, if determined to be valid, is very limited,” it said.

Blake Rowe, chief executive of the Oregon Wheat Commission, said wheat growers were “very concerned.” He said they hoped the investigation was completed before the harvest began, in a few weeks.

A version of this article appears in print on May 30, 2013, on Page B6 of the New York edition with the headline: Modified Wheat Discovered In Oregon. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe